Comment from a user:
Hi all, I have a family with two children aged 13 and 10 and we are thinking of a holiday in Menorca for August this year. We are attracted to the beautiful beaches on this island which seems to be less touristy and hopefully not so crowded in high season. Can you tell me what the weather is like at the beginning of August? What are the usual high temperatures and how do they feel? Does it get above 34 - 35 degrees Celsius and is the humidity high? I have looked for a flat on AirBNB and Booking, but there are not many available and most don't have air conditioning. The last 2 years we spent our holidays on the Croatian coast, but the flats we booked had air conditioning. Without it I don't think we would have been able to sleep all night because of the heat. Are the beaches and villages very crowded during the high season in the sense that you can hardly find a free place on the beach? Can you use the local buses to visit the island or do you really need a rental car? Any other tips and advice would be welcome too. If you know of any local websites to look for holiday flats to rent, post them too. Thanks in advance for your help !
Our recommendation
The island is so small that if you're in a tourist spot you can access most of the island by bus. The buses are air-conditioned and come with the rule (just like the main cities) that you must be properly dressed, so you need a cover-up over your bikini and men must wear a shirt/top.
From Ciutadella or Mahon you can take a bus to almost anywhere, the most beautiful unspoilt beaches are a good distance from the bus stops, but that is for a good reason, it keeps them unspoilt, pack a picnic and drinks as these beaches have no cafes or toilets.
I really wouldn't bother renting cars, as a transfer from the airport will take less than an hour and a half by car, regardless of where you stay.
If you want to see some of the harder-to-reach beaches and not make the kids walk too far in the heat, I suggest you book any of the tours at glass-bottom jar or in big boat You'll go out for the day to see the island, you'll see some coves, they'll drop you on the actual beaches and then there's a boat there with toilets and usually drinks so the kids don't hate it.
You will find that some beaches are very crowded, but generally there is always a spot available.
I lived on the ciutadella side, so my experience is mainly based on using that as a starting point, everywhere is accessible by bus.
You can head northwest from Ciutadella and find Cala'n Blanes and Los Delfines, which are very, very touristy and very much based on entertainment and kids stuff everywhere, it has a beach in each place and some swimming coves in between, buses go to both places from Ciutadella every 20 minutes or so, there is plenty to do, see, eat and drink here.
To the north of Ciutadella you will find Cala Morrell, a really beautiful and mostly quieter area, although it has become more popular, there are also buses running here regularly.
In Ciutadella there is a beach called Platja Gran/Playa Grande which is very small and can be very busy as it is the main pedestrian beach in town, there is a bus stop here and most of the buses going to Ciutadella pass through this stop.
From Platja Gran and Ciutadella you can head south and buses go to each of these beaches every 20 minutes... The south/west of the island has all white sandy beaches and the north has more rocky pebble beaches. The Diskont supermarket is very close to this bus route and you can walk from Ciutadella and Sa Caleta. Sa Caleta, a very small but beautiful beach and a small fortress to explore on the rocks, some cafes, shops and hotels locally. Santandria two beaches joined together with a beautiful shallow area for paddling, some cafes and hotels here. Cala Blanca is a more touristy area with lots of public pools and slides by the beach, lots of restaurants and evening entertainment, children's playgrounds. Cap D'Artrutx - Cala'n Bosc/Cala en Bosch is beautiful (I am biased, I used to live here too) there is a beautiful lighthouse, supermarkets to eat and entertainment next to the lighthouse, then there is a promenade from the lighthouse to the marina with boat tours where you will find restaurants, entertainment, swimming pools, Cala'n Bosc beach which then almost connects to Son Xoriguer beach which is more of a golden sandy beach, all three are on the bus route. All of this is walkable.
Cala en Bosc and Cala'n Blanes have water parks... I never went to Blanes but at Bosc you have 4 "big" slides and lots of little things, I wouldn't bother going for a whole day, it's about half price after 2pm, so do something else, have lunch and then go there for the 3 hours until closing. I think Xoriguer has one of those inflatable fields on the beach sometimes, it also has more water sports opportunities. Bosch has pedal boats and Blanca too... The others I'm not sure.
Beyond here, Galdana is a beautiful huge beach with its own tourist area, it is really nice.
Turqueta Mitjana Mitjaneta are beautiful beaches further away, but there are bus stops close to the beach.
Also if you are hikers try a bit of the cami de cavalls or the natural biosphere area. If you rent a car, Monte Toro is our only "mountain" and there are 360 degree views of the whole island there, plus a pretty impressive monastery to look around, with nuns!
Hope some of this helps a bit 😊